Temperature drops, parts of Oman shiver

Muscat: Temperature has dropped below zero in some places in the Al Hajar Mountain Range as winter grips the peaks.
Oman’s highest mountain range, Jabal Shams, recorded a minimum temperature of one degree Celsius, according to the General Directorate of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN).
“It is really freezing at night,” said Said Khamis Al Khatri, the manager of Jabal Shams Resort.
Jabal Shams, part of the Al Hajar Mountain range and situated at an altitude of 3,004 metres above the sea level, recorded as low as minus eight degrees Celsius (-8°C) temperature in the recent past.
An official of DGMAN said temperatures dropped considerably in the hills because of cold winds blowing from Iran. “The northerly disturbance was here and it was raining all through the last week. But skies are now clearing up,” the official said.
“We have not recorded any snowfall as yet but the temperatures plummeted to zero degree at some places in the hills.”
Saiq, Yanqul and Nizwa are already feeling the chill after the rains this week, with the minimum temperatures down by at least 5 degree Celsius.
“The northwesterly winds coming from the deserts of Iran and the Mediterranean Sea are cold and dry. This is pushing down the temperatures in Oman,” the official said.
The drop in temperatures at the highest peak in the Gulf has started to draw tourists. “We are now having tourists from the UAE and Europe, besides Oman,” said Al Khatri.
A spokesperson of Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort said, “The Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort experiences some unique weather conditions,being (at a place) 15 degrees cooler than Muscat. Many of our guests come to experience a real winter wonderland without having to travel abroad. As fireplaces are lit throughout the resort from our courtyard to the famous Diana’s Point, you get a real sense of winter with temperatures that hit as low as 5 degrees.